Barbara Akabla has been involved in music since the 1980s. Very soon, she recorded a first album,
« Séhizou », that
was produced by Paul Nemlin, who recorded a few albums of his own, and who participated later in the a capella group
NIPA (1996). Barbara was still at in college when Paul Nemlin proposed to record an album with her. Barbara
continued developing her singing capacities in Abidjan and started singing in bars and nightclubs in Abidjan.

In the late 1990s, she arrived in Paris where she continued to sing in bars. She performed as opening act for
concerts of Papa Wemba and Koffi Olomide
in the Zenith venue in Paris. She recorded a second album
« Tu pense qu'à ça », an
album that was released in 1999. The album was well received but had limited success due to lack of promotion. In 2006,
Barbara Akabla returns with a new album with the funny title « Boum Boum Bam », produced by
French producer François Cousin. The style of this album is called Afro World, which is in fact a mix of RnB and zouk
with local Ivorian rhythms.